page_title: Cross-Strait relations
section_title: Inter-government
hierarchical_section_title: Cross-Strait relations / Semi-official relations / Inter-government
caption_attribution_description: English: The Straits Exchange Foundation’s new headquarters in Dazhi, an area of Zhongshan District, Taipei.中文（繁體）‎: 海峽交流基金會新總部，地址：臺北市中山區北安路536號。
context_page_description: Cross-Strait relations refer to the relationship between the following two political entities, which are separated by the Taiwan Strait in the west Pacific Ocean:
  the People's Republic of China, commonly known as "China"
  the Republic of China, commonly known as "Taiwan"
  Their relationship is complex and controversial due to the dispute on the political status of Taiwan after the administration of Taiwan was transferred from Japan at the end of World War II in 1945 and the subsequent split of China into the above two in 1949 as a result of civil war, and hinges on two key questions: whether the two entities are two separate countries or two "regions" or parts of the same country with rivaling governments. The English expression "cross-Strait relations" is considered to be a neutral term which avoids reference to the political status of either side.
  At the end of World War II in 1945, the administration of Taiwan was transferred to the Republic of China from the Empire of Japan, though legal questions remain regarding the language in the Treaty of San Francisco.
context_section_description: Semi-governmental contact is maintained through the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS). Negotiations between the SEF and the ARATS resumed on 11 June 2008.
  Although formally privately constituted bodies, the SEF and the ARATS are both directly led by the Executive Government of each side: the SEF by the Mainland Affairs Council of the Executive Yuan of the ROC, and the ARATS by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of the PRC. The heads of the two bodies, Lin Join-sane and Chen Deming, are both full-time appointees and do not hold other government positions. However, both are senior members of their respective political parties (Kuomintang and Communist Party of China respectively), and both have previously served as senior members of their respective governments. Their deputies, who in practice are responsible for the substantive negotiations, are concurrently senior members of their respective governments. For the June 2008 negotiations, the main negotiators, who are deputy heads of the SEF and the ARATS respectively, are concurrently deputy heads of the Mainland Affairs Council and the Taiwan Affairs Office respectively.
  To date, the 'most official' representative offices between the two sides are the PRC's Cross-Strait Tourism Exchange Association (CSTEA) in Taiwan, established on 7 May 2010, and ROC's Taiwan Strait Tourism Association (TSTA) in China, established on 4 May 2010. However, the duties of these offices are limited only to tourism-related affairs so far.
caption: Straits Exchange Foundation headquarter office in Taipei, Taiwan.
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